Word · CEFR C1 · Frequency #628
contract
签订合同；订立契约
to make or enter into a legal agreement
- 1.
To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
拉近或靠拢；缩短、变窄或减少
- 2.
To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
通过省略一个或多个字母,或将两个或多个元音或音节缩减为一个来缩短。
- 3.
To make an agreement or contract; to covenant.
订立协议或合同；立约。
- 4.
To enter into a contract with (someone or something).
与(某人或某物)订立合同。
- 5.
To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
引起；招致；获得。
- 6.
To gain or acquire (an illness).
染上(疾病)。
- 7.
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
使皱缩；皱起。
- 8.
To betroth; to affiance.
订婚；许配。
收缩；缩小；缩短；染上；感染（疾病）；缩约；缩写；招致；负债；皱起；蹙起
In use
The company decided to contract with a local supplier for raw materials.
Metals contract when they cool down.
He contracted a rare disease while traveling abroad.
Verb forms
base contract · third person contracts · -ing contracting · past contracted · past participle contracted
注意动词contract作'收缩'或'感染'解时，过去式与过去分词均为contracted。
Connections
Collocations
- contract with
- 与……签订合同；与……订立契约
- The company contracted with a local supplier for raw materials.该公司与当地供应商签订了原材料供货合同。
- contract to do
- 按合同约定做某事；签约做某事
- She contracted to teach English at the school for one year.她签约在这所学校教一年英语。
- expand and contract
- 膨胀和收缩
- Metals expand and contract as temperatures change.金属会随着温度变化而膨胀和收缩。
- contract a muscle
- 收缩肌肉；使肌肉绷紧
- Breathe out and slowly contract your abdominal muscles.呼气并慢慢收缩腹部肌肉。
- contract a disease
- 感染疾病；患上疾病
- He contracted a rare disease during his travels.他在旅行中感染了一种罕见的疾病。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象拉一根橡皮筋：双手一起拉近就是 contract（收缩/缩短）；签合同时双方握手也像拉近关系。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：商业谈判、法律文书、医学语境、学术或技术写作 「contract」的语域随搭配变化：表示“签订合同”或“感染疾病”时，常见于正式或专业场合；表示“收缩、缩短”时，多用于书面或技术说明。整体语域建议标注为混合。
Grammar Note
可及物或不及物
Pronunciation & Spelling
以上词均以 -tract 结尾，押韵音为 /trækt/，与 contract 的 -tract 一致；重音位置可能不同，但元音和后续辅音相同。注意 contact /ˈkɑn.tækt/ 和 intact /ɪnˈtækt/ 看起来像，但以 -tact 结尾，发音没有 /r/，与 -tract 不押韵。
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 4，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.